PETERBOROUGH, Ont. — After an OUA semifinal exit last season, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold men's soccer team faced their first test of 2025 with a showdown at Trent on Sunday afternoon.

After going down early, the Bold took control in the second half en route to a commanding 5-2 victory over the Excalibur. TMU's Justin Santos produced a standout performance, netting the second hat trick of his career to help push the Bold to their win.

The Bold's starting lineup featured old faces and some new, digging from their deep squad. Beginning the match, TMU brought the offensive pressure, trying to score an early goal. Both Cyrus Rollocks and Santos made advances but couldn't capitalize. 

Trent then began to take control of the game. In the 18th minute, Trent's John Moncada scored, putting the Excalibur in the lead, 1-0. Not long after, feeding off of his momentum, Moncada scored again in the 19th minute, giving Trent a 2-0 advantage. 

Trent's offensive pressure pushed the Bold to ramp up their energy and keep themselves in game contention. Ferraro made some key saves to prevent the Excalibur from extending their lead. Nearing the end of the first half, in the 39th minute, Rollocks scored in his OUA debut, to make it a 2-1 game going into halftime.  

Determined to avoid a loss in their first match of the season, the Bold came out of halftime with enhanced intensity.

Santos leveled the score at 2-2 in the 60th minute, igniting his standout performance. He followed up with another goal in the 71st minute and sealed his hat trick with a penalty in the 73rd, putting the Bold up, 4-2. 

In the final minutes of play, first-year midfielder Brandon Verburg scored in the 90th minute, earning a point in his OUA debut and sealing a decisive 5-2 Bold win.

The Bold will host their home opener at Downsview Park, facing off against the Queen's Gaels on Thursday, Sept. 4. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. Admission is free.